WHEN it came down to it, after all the soul- searching and nagging concerns he was taking someone else’s place at a major tournament, the answer became obvious to Jamie Carragher.

“I’ve been playing football since I was five years of age and, in another five years, I’ll probably never kick a football for the rest of my life,” he said.

“Yes, I’m helping England by coming back, but it’s a great opportunity for me as well .”

To watch Liverpool defender Carragher yesterday in the picture-postcard setting of England’s Alpine training camp in Irdning, it was as if his three-year, self-imposed exile had never taken place.

For a start, he lined up at right-back as a dozen of his team-mates undertook their drills, back in a position that, under former coach Steve McClaren, had left him cold, one of a number of factors to hasten his departure from the international scene in 2007.

Carragher was soon barking out instructions, too, and, if Adam Johnson impressed against him, it was because he seemed to be in the mood to trouble whomever he was pitted against.

Carragher, 32, has always been happiest when pulling on a pair of boots. Yet it says much about his humble approach that, initially, he harboured doubts when Fabio Capello’s trusted lieutenant, Franco Baldini, first broached the subject of a return, once it had become clear Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott were unlikely to recover from injury.

“First of all, you think that someone still thinks you’re good enough to play at that level. It’s a bit of a boost,” said Carragher, whose last cap came against Brazil in the opening game at the new Wembley.

“You go to bed that night racking your brains. I thought about the situation of other players and how they would react if I came back .

“The lads have been to Kazakhstan and Ukraine, all kinds of trips and I didn’t want to just jump in on the party. I’m not stupid – I wouldn’t like someone to do that to me and I was adamant I wouldn’t do it. It’s only with people being out that I’m here.

“There were two or three different things all building up before I retired. It wasn’t just that I was a squad player. If I’d been manager, I would have probably picked John Terry and Rio Ferdinand ahead of me.

“But I thought that, if they were out, maybe I should be in. Don’t forget, Liverpool had come off the back of two Champions League finals then. I’m not in that situation now. I understand that and that is what has changed.”

In many respects, it would have been easier if Carragher had said ‘no’ to the request – a la Paul Scholes – and saved himself from wondering what sort of reaction he will receive at Wembley on Monday for the friendly with Mexico.

That he could endure the sort of barracking that has become commonplace at the national stadium is largely down to the misconceptions that surround his autobiography in which he, with brutal honesty, admitted he lives and breathes Liverpool, not England.

Carragher maintains his views should not be construed as an act of treason. “It wasn’t so much a slight on England, it was more that Liverpool means that much to me,” he said.

“I’ve been there since I was nine years of age. All the trophies and the great nights in football I’ve had with Liverpool.

“Everybody I speak to on the phone, probably 90 per cent of the conversations are about Liverpool. I’m so emotionally involved , it’s that big for me.”

There is no doubting that part of the attraction for Carragher, an avid student of the game who has never disguised his desire to one day move into management , is the chance to work under Capello, whether it be for two weeks or closer to two months. The fact Carragher’s testimonial at Anfield has been arranged for September 4 – the day after England kick off their European Championship qualifying campaign against Bulgaria – suggests that his return will be short-lived.

“ Over the past 10 years, Mr Capello has been the stand-out manager in world football,” he said. “ Working with him appeals to me, especially as a defender.

“The two best defenders for me, probably of all time, are Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini – and he has coached them both, told them what they needed to do. That will make it a great education for me over the next two weeks – and hopefully the month afterwards.

“If you go into management you want to do things right. The reason he is at the top is because he gets most things right. That’s something to learn from.

“The manager knows me as a player playing for Liverpool, but he doesn’t know me as a person , doesn’t know what I’m like in training, at meal-times, mixing with the squad. There’s no chance of Fabio guaranteeing anything to anybody.